Stanley Cup Playoffs Wednesday: Kings, Wild, Rangers earn Game 7 victories

He only had to stop one shot, but he got the win. It’s his.

Kuemper appeared to be injured in the second period after a collision behind his own net and didn’t seem to be himself after that.

Whatever you’re doing on Wednesday night, there is a pretty good chance it’s not going as well as what just happened to this dude in New York.

Not only did his team take a 2-0 lead into the third period of Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers, but then he went out on the ice between periods and won a brand new Lexus by shooting a puck through a little hole from center ice.

In seven playoff games he already has two. Nobody, not even Daniel Carcillo, saw something like that coming.

The best for Carcillo scoring that goal in the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden? Nobody in the front row giving him the finger.

It’s pretty rare to get three Game 7’s in one playoff round, let alone on the exact same day. But that’s the case Wednesday night in the NHL, when three decisive games will be played in the First Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas are getting in on the fun, handicapping each of the three games: Flyers vs. Rangers, Wild vs. Avalanche and Sharks vs. Kings. The teams on home ice are all slightly favored. Here are the lines for each game, courtesy of Bovada:

As far as Game 7s go, it’s hard to imagine one having more intrigue than the one in San Jose on Wednesday night. It has the potential to be a complete bloodbath that will forever define these groups of players and organizations.

Sometimes, though, those playoff shortcomings, that stupid narrative that the Sharks are trying to demolish on Wednesday night, are greatly exaggerated.